NEWBURGH — For most of the season, the rap on Newburgh Free Academy has been that the Goldbacks don't have a game-changing big man.

As it turns out, they did. It just took senior Robert Mills some time to develop. There was Mills on Wednesday during Newburgh's Section 9 Class AA quarterfinal game against Washingtonville throwing his body around inside, grabbing rebounds, scoring in the paint.

Mills even showed his touch from outside. Not only was the high-energy Mills on — so were the Goldbacks.

The fourth-seeded Goldbacks (12-5) split a pair of meetings with Kingston this season. Kingston has won 12 in a row since losing to Newburgh 57-56 on Dec. 19. The Tigers put away Newburgh 81-60 on Feb. 1 at Kate Walton Fieldhouse.

"Kingston is a tough place to play," said Mills, who finished with a game-high 17 points and nine rebounds against Washingtonville. "It's not always the team, it's the crowd. But we just have to let the crowd be the crowd. Just focus on our team, do what we have to do, and be confident."

Mills, who is 6-foot-4, began the season as part of a 1-2 combo inside with Jakwan "Slinky" Jones. However, Jones went down for the season with a severe knee injury on Jan. 30 during a loss to Middletown. Since then, Mills has had some big moments, including a 24-point, 13-rebound performance against Pine Bush earlier this month.

With Kingston coach Ron Kelder scouting from the stands, Mills helped Newburgh open up a 16-3 lead over Washingtonville (13-6) after one quarter. Mills had 10 points at halftime and the Goldbacks led 31-15 in the walkover. Jerry Hall finished with 14 points for Newburgh and Donovan Fields added 13. Joey Picone had 14 points for Washingtonville, which had won eight of its last nine. Picone left late in the third quarter with an ankle injury.

"The way Washingtonville had been playing motivated us," Fields said. "We definitely used that tonight. Now our whole season is on the line. We have to play against Kingston like our life depends on it."